New my dog kayla been diagnosed 2 weeks

[amydunn19]

Re: New my dog kayla been diagnosed 2 weeks

I used frontline with Maggie for quite some time. I never noticed anything but see what everybody else says.

I am so happy for you and Kayla - even if she stays diabetic, it will be fine. She will be back to a normal dog. Hope everything goes well.

[Abby's Mom]

Re: New my dog kayla been diagnosed 2 weeks

Hi I have a question if anyone can help me can I use frontline flea control on Kayla now she is diabetic??

I always used frontline for my Abby and never had an adverse affect. No change in blood sugar. I was always hesitant as I did see some negative documentation, but from personal experience, I had none.

Barb

[Eddie]

Re: New my dog kayla been diagnosed 2 weeks

We have used a range of flea controls on Eddie since he has been diabetic and have not noticed any effect on his blood sugar. Currently about to use Activyl but we have used Frontline, Advocate etc as well.

Antonia

[kaysha]

Re: New my dog kayla been diagnosed 2 weeks

Thank you so much I did think Frontline should be safe but I did read on the internet that you shouldn't use it as it can affect the levels but to be honest it was the only one site I saw that had a negative, so I thought I would post here as you have all given me brilliant advice so I trust you all

A new question for you ~ today which is the first time ever I noticed a small amount of blood on Kayla's coat after I had injected her and it totally freaked me out, this has never happened before I know I must have caught a small blood vessel but it has really knocked my confidence now and I keep worrying I did something wrong ~ I can't believe this happened after injecting her well over a hundred times, so what did I do? How can I make sure it never happens again? Kayla was totally fine I don't think she even knew it had happened but it upset me, I applied a little pressure on it using a clean paper towel and I wiped her fur and now it is just a tiny pink stain but I keep worrying I am going to do it again tonight. Even talking about this my hands are shaky and tummy turning ~ what did I do wrong?

Also since the vet has brought Kayla down to 3 units morning and night I have noticed her drinking has increased but she seems to be drinking differently now, beforehand she would drink during the day not loads just normal but would drink water during the day and after her evening meal.
But for some reason now she doesn't drink in the day but goes for it during the night and leaves me a little gift on the kitchen floor in the morning! That I am not bothered about it is what it is but why would she just not drink during the day but drink at night? I know that an underlying infection can also cause increase drinking but there is nothing obvious that I can see there is no blood in her urine which was the first thing I checked as last time when she increased with her drinking she had a UTI but all that has cleared up now and I can't see anything else untoward at this time.

Since she has come down to 3 units she is more like Kayla ( apart from the night drinking) it was so lovely yesterday as I managed to take her for two walks without her dropping too low this is a first in a long time, she is also playful and charges around the garden with her rope and she hasn't had a hypo in four days now which is brilliant.

To be honest I am wondering if maybe 3 units could be a little too low for her the vet seems to have gone from 7 to 3 pretty fast. He asked me to do a blood curve on Monday which I did and I had to call the results in and to be honest I was expecting him to increase from 3 units to maybe 4 or 5 but he said no keep her on 3 for a few days and do another curve on Friday but this one will be over a longer period during the day.

This is the results from Monday's curve ~ what do you all think??
breakfast was 7.15am insulin was 7.45am (3 units)

11am 21.0
1pm 15.1
3pm 13.4
5pm 10.1
7pm 11.0

Hope someone can help thank you

[amydunn19]

Re: New my dog kayla been diagnosed 2 weeks

First, the blood at injection is not a huge deal. It doesn't equate with pain so she probably didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. There are rare times you could hit a vein but most likely it was just a spot where the vessels are closer to the surface. It happens when you deal with needles. No harm done - don't stress about it.

As far as the dose being appropriate, you really need a full curve, testing at fasting every two hours until the evening meal. If you get that done on Friday, you can post it and we can tell you more. If the dose is too low, I would be careful easing her up - possibly a half unit at a time. But, we won't know that until we see a curve. It looks like her low is at 5 pm(10.1, which is 180 converted to my system) I don't think you will be able to raise more than a unit without driving that number very low. What does she eat again?

Higher numbers can be a sign of a UTI. I never wait to see blood - if I think Maggie does something out of character, then, I go ahead and get her checked before you get to the point where there is blood. The thirst is usually a sign the numbers might be running higher but I have never been able to tell by excessive drinking because Maggie has always drank a ton of water - I am guessing her allergy meds make her thirsty.

[jesse girl]

Re: New my dog kayla been diagnosed 2 weeks

might be running a bit higher at night which is not that unusual with less activity

i think if if your not seeing the consumption of allot of water but still seeing quite a bit of urination that may point to something else like a UTI

i wouldn't worry about the shot . nothing to do about that . it is possible if you injected insulin into a blood vessel or muscle insulin can work faster causing a pups blood sugar to drop quickly early so something to think about if it ever happens again

sounds like things are doing a bit better

[kaysha]

Re: New my dog kayla been diagnosed 2 weeks

Hi everyone
I thought I would give you all an update as something changed since I posted this morning! I noticed Kayla seemed to feel a little warm/hot a couple of hours after I posted and she started drinking but this time in the day! I wasn't happy with the way she seemed so I rang the vet and he said to come on down so he could check her out. So an hour later we were there ~ it takes me 45 mins to get there in traffic anyway he gave her a good examination and check up and it turned out Kayla has a water infection. This explains quite a lot with the way she has been with higher glucose levels, more drinking and little gifts in the morning as she had drank thru the night! It also explains why she was feeling hot when I stroked her and gave her cuddles.

The vet said her temperature was quite high so basically everything fell into place poor Kayla I really feel for her. The vet gave her an antibiotic injection and also tablets I need to start in the morning for the next 8 days.
I did mention what had happened this morning and the vet said not to worry as sometimes it happens and it sounds like I did catch a small blood vessel but said no harm done so I am feeling a lot better about that now. I also asked about flea treatment and they recommended something different then Frontline and I can't remember the name the vet said now but not to worry as I am not to treat her right now with her not being well, so I will get that from the vet next week once she is better we have an appointment to check Kayla has cleared the water infection. So I can let you know the name when I go up I do know it has something to prevent heart worms if that helps at all with the name?
I was paying more attention to Kayla then listening to the name of the product!

I will of course post the curve once it is done on Friday and hopefully someone will be able to work it all out? I am so very grateful to you all for your help trust me Kayla and myself need you all

[chucksmom]

Re: New my dog kayla been diagnosed 2 weeks

Well, I know a UTI isn't good news, but it does explain things, which is always good news
Glad you got her checked and on the road to recovery! I haven't nicked a blood vessel, yet, but I' sure it will happen. Bound to with all the shots we give. I did manage to give a complete dose of insulin into the fur yesterday, so it was like Chuck didn't get his shot at all. Thankfully after his shot last night, his numbers were back to almost normal this morning.
If Kayla has an infection, I'd say your vet was wise to leave the dose at 3 units, infections drive the bg up, usually, and you had a 186 reading, so it may go even lower with the infection clearing up. That 186 is a great number by the way, looks like you may have found Kayla's magic number.
Sending healing prayers for your girl!

[Grayson]

Re: New my dog kayla been diagnosed 2 weeks

I'm sure we all have hit a blood vessel now and then...it's just that those of us with dark furred babies don't usually see the result! Try not to worry too much as they really don't notice a thing. I know it does make you feel bad though. I have to give my Mom an insulin shot in her belly every night, and you wouldn't believe the guilt I feel when I get a drop of blood after, or find a bruise a day or so later. She assures me it doesn't hurt her, but I feel bad nonetheless for not being able to avoid it. There does seem to be areas where it happens more than others, so I try to skip them - even without fur, you can't really tell if there is a tiny capillary under the needle stick until you see it bleed.

[amydunn19]

Re: New my dog kayla been diagnosed 2 weeks

I bet it is sentinel - that is what Maggie takes and it is for fleas and heart worms.

[Eddie]

Re: New my dog kayla been diagnosed 2 weeks

The flea treatment might be Advocate (called something else in the US I think) as that is supposed to deal with heartworms, (though I've never taken much notice of that as they aren't really a problem here).

[kaysha]

Re: New my dog kayla been diagnosed 2 weeks

Good morning everyone!
Well Kayla is getting there with her UTI this is now 2nd day of antibiotics (the vet had give her a shot of antibiotics so started tablets at home next day ~ yesterday) she seems much better in herself bouncing around the garden it had snowed here yesterday not lots but enough for Kayla as she loves the snow!

She is eating well and still drinking more then she did, I was hoping not to come down to a gift this morning but she had drank thru out the night so I got my gift!! Anyone know how long it will take for the UTI to settle down?
I am not sure if it is the UTI that is causing her to drink more of if it is the change of her insulin dose they both occurred at around the same time so not too sure?

I have the blood curve test to do today so hopefully this will show if her units maybe a little too low with it being 3 units? Trouble is with her having an infection I am wondering if I will get a true reading of her glucose levels?
Once I have done them I will post them here so you can have a look and hopefully tell me what you all think?
Once done I need to ring them thru to the vet and he will let me know about the amount of units to give her?

Thankfully Kayla's shots have been going fine and I haven't hit a blood vessel since but it has still knocked my confidence just a tad but I am sure as the days go on it will hopefully become a distant memory as I for sure don't want to do that again, Kayla didn't even notice it was me it upset! All Kayla wanted was her 'sweeties' afterwards!!

Well it is now coming up time for first shot of the day so I guess I had better go do it I have Kayla sitting by the side of me and I bet she's thinking 'come on mom sweetie time'!!

[amydunn19]

Re: New my dog kayla been diagnosed 2 weeks

It doesn't hurt to do the curve - more info is always better than less. I just don't know if you can make any long term decisions with it. My dog usually drops on antibiotics so there is no right answer - every dog reacts in their own way. I would think you should see some change but you guys did drop the dose so it could be a residual kind of thing.

[kaysha]

Kayla now has cataracts urgent help needed

Kayla now has cataracts in both eyes and her eye sight is very limited, she does still have some vision but it is limited. My vet said she is a good candidate to have them removed and we have another appointment on Monday to see him to discuss things further. Apparently we need to be referred to another vet to perform the operation.
I really do not know what this will entail or what is best for Kayla she is still happy, healthy and bouncy she is coming up 10 years old. The operation is going to cost me a lot of money £3,500 (UK) but taking that away I want what is best for Kayla, does anyone know what happens during the operation, how she will be? Will it restore her sight and above all is it worth having it done for her?
Her diabetes is in control as much as it can be she is on 6 units twice a day and the vet is happy with her curves/readings. The main concern now is her eye sight and wanting to do the best for her.
Can anyone help me is there anyone here who has had the operation done on their dog and what happened? Did it restore their sight and were they fine with the operation?
I really need some advice here as I really do not know what to expect?
Thank you all so much I am so worried and stressed I really do not know what to do.

[amydunn19]

Re: Kayla now has cataracts urgent help needed

There are no guarantees with the surgery and they won't know until they actually get in there if there is enough structure to replace the lens or go with no lens. Maggie lacked the structure for a new lens so they removed the cataracts and lens but her sight was restored. If there is no lens, the up close vision is not as good and if it is dimly lit in a room, she had problems seeing. It was pretty rough for a day - she looked really bad - her eyes were red. The aftercare was quite a lot of drops at specific times and in a specific order so you have to be available for those. The drops go on for a month. Luckily, as soon as she felt like opening her eyes she could see.

Maggie was a basket case when she went blind. She was not happy unless she was being held or touching my leg and I tried to talk to her but she still could not function well. Hers came on suddenly and she has severe separation anxiety so we felt like she wasn't going to settle in to blindness plus she was still a young dog. Some dogs have no problem with blindness - it is not something they treasure like humans do. They use their sense of smell. If Maggie had settled in with being blind at the time, I would not risk the surgery. There are risks that go along with it and it is not always successful. So, you have to weigh your options and know what Kayla wants(try to take your sadness out of it). I never regretted doing it as it gave her back her sight for many years but there are horror stories to consider. Also, research the surgeon and make sure this person has extensive experience.